Bhujbal, Family Discharged In Money Laundering Case
Special Judge Satyanarayan Navander discharged all the accused. Counsel for Mr. Bhujbal, advocate Shalabh Saxena, confirmed the relief, though the detailed order was not immediately available: Reports
MUMBAI: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Mumbai on Friday discharged senior Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Chhagan Bhujbal, his son Pankaj and nephew Sameer in the Maharashtra Sadan scam case registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
The case pertains to a 2005–06 contract allegedly awarded to K.S. Chamankar Developers, when Mr. Bhujbal was Maharashtra’s Public Works Department (PWD) minister. Mr. Bhujbal and the other accused had earlier been discharged in a related anti-corruption case arising from the same allegations.
Special Judge Satyanarayan Navander discharged all the accused. Counsel for Mr. Bhujbal, advocate Shalabh Saxena, confirmed the relief, though the detailed order was not immediately available.
“The reasoning will be clear once the order copy is released. However, majorly the argument that once they have been discharged in the ACB case, this case too must go, seems to have been considered by the court,” Mr. Saxena said.
The controversy dates back to 2006, during Mr. Bhujbal’s tenure as PWD Minister, when allegations surfaced over irregularities in contracts worth over ₹100 crore for three projects — the Maharashtra Sadan in the national capital, a new Regional Transport Office (RTO) building in Andheri, and a state guest house on Malabar Hill.
Following a Public Interest Litigation in the Bombay High Court, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) registered a case against Mr. Bhujbal and others in 2015.
The prosecution had alleged that contracts were awarded to K.S. Chamankar Developers in violation of established norms and that kickbacks were routed through companies and trusts controlled by members of the Bhujbal family.
Based on the ACB’s FIR, the ED subsequently registered a money laundering case under the PMLA.
In September 2021, a special ACB court discharged Mr. Bhujbal, his son and other accused in the corruption case, citing lack of evidence.
The defence consistently argued that in the absence of a predicate offence, the ED’s money laundering case had no legal basis — a contention that appears to have found favour with the PMLA court.